Well, hello there. I've been here a long time, but I've never tried writing something. But now, I thought, is the time!

Unfortunately, I don't own Kingdom Hearts, Square Enix does. If I did, Axel and Roxas would end up together somehow.

No Time Like The Present

Chapter 1

The chirping of birds could be heard in a nearby park as the laughter and happy chattering of people cut through the melody. Women walking in fluttering dresses that floated behind them like ripples in still water. Little children whining to their mothers about the ice cream they wanted due to the humid weather that always seemed to be customary for the metropolis. For most people this was a period of peace before the schools started again and people fresh out of college would start a life with the job they studied so hard for. Their life would be filled with new opportunities and of course, stress. That's why all the cafes and terraces were filled with young people trying to get the best out of life before they would be tied down again to either work or college.

But as it seemed, not everybody could throw their feet up and relax. A few streets away from the serenity a scene unfolded on the dark pavement that the big city had running between every building.

'Come on man. Can't you at least help me move them inside?'

'Sorry kid, you're on your own.'

The driver stepped in his truck and sped away.

'You asshole! I paid you like 70 dollars!' the guy yelled in the direction of the vehicle. 'And I ain't a kid!', he shouted to try and salvage his broken pride in a futile attempt. The truck quickly drove around the corner and out of sight. 'Yeah, well, I hope I'll never see you ever again! Fucker..'

A sun-kissed blond haired individual with azure blue eyes stood between twenty-something boxes on the sidewalk in front of a huge apartment building.

'Well fuck me,' he thought to himself, 'I'm on my own for a few hours and I'm already screwed over.'

He gave a big huff and turned around to only see that the doorman was shooting furtive glances at him.

'Hey, could you keep an eye on my boxes for me while I'll go get my key inside?'

'Well, I don't know about that..'

'I'll give you 5.'

'Sure, I'll watch them for you sir.'

'Man, you've got to love the city,' the blonde thought and let out a sigh,' maybe this guy and that mover are conspiring together by taking advantage of newcomers by taking their money in the sense of being 'helpful'.' He straightened his shoulders attempting to beat down the negative feelings he got from the dispiriting encounters he'd gotten in the short time he was here. He looked up at his new home. The building was made out of cream coloured bricks that were placed with precision upon each other. Big windows sparkled from the sunlight that hit upon their surface. A few apartments contained a balcony, like his own, that stood out from the flat surface like a mountain on a savannah.

The young man walked in through the shiny glass doors the doorman held open and stalked over to the counter where a peppy brunette in a blinding yellow dress stood behind.

'Hello sir! My name is Selphie, how may I help you?' she asked with a bright smile.

'Hello,' he responded, 'yes, I would like to pick up my key.'

'Of course, may I have your identification card please?'

The guy opened his wallet, took out the card and handed it over.

'Oh! You're from Destiny Islands; I heard it's pretty nice over there, especially the view of the ocean.'

'Yeah, it's beautiful..' he said with a far-off look in his eyes.

'I would like to visit it someday,' she said. The girl gave his card back and a brass key. 'Here you go! And welcome to Midgar Mr. Strife.'

He pocketed the items and gave a small smile. 'Thank you very much, and you may call me Roxas if you want to.'

'Alright Roxas, have a nice day!' Selphie gave a big smile and went back to her work.

Roxas gave a small wave as he walked outside and took a long look at his new surroundings. Big, dark looming buildings were on every corner of the streets and all the noise from the chaotic traffic attacked his eardrums. The combination of this and the harsh comments from passing pedestrians directed towards Roxas and his boxes on the sidewalk gave him a sense of distress. He wished he were back on the beach watching the sunset with his old friends while eating his favourite sea-salt ice cream after a whole day of surfing.

'Well, you know what mom always says: 'Never say die'. I guess new places, new adventures and chances.'

The blonde began moving the boxes inside. He didn't even try to ask the doorman for he already lost enough money to unhelpful people. After half an hour he finally got them inside, he came to a horrifying revelation. He realised he still had to get them on the elevator, and of course he couldn't put them all in at the same time for he didn't want to die in an endless elevator shaft. Roxas was actually afraid of heights and falling due to an incident where his older brother Cloud accidentally pushed him so hard on the swing that he soared through the sky and landed face first in roses that were in full bloom.

He pushed the button to call the moving box down. After waiting for a few minutes it finally arrived. The metal doors opened slowly and revealed an elevator with a cream coloured floor. Wooden panels decorated the sides, while mirrors covered almost every surface. A polished control panel showed buttons for 20 floors.

The blue eyed teen rolled up his sleeves and started carrying a few boxes in the elevator.

'I should've called Sora that I arrived. He could've helped me move them,' thought the blonde. This brought him back to a memory of his 16th birthday where the hyperactive brunette carried in a huge blue and red birthday cake. He was so excited that his little brother finally turned 16, although he was hardly a year older. The goofball began speeding up his pace towards the golden-haired birthday boy. Due to his excitement he tripped over his own poorly tied shoelaces, and let's just say that wasn't one of the fondest memories Roxas had of the brunette, but it's by far not the worst.

Roxas shuddered at the memory of the days following the incident when he couldn't get the blue and red colour from the frosting out of his hair. For months he was called Ms. Twilight Sparkle by Seifer and his gang. Personally, he liked Princess Celestia more. What? With the flowing long hair and big white wings..

Roxas got in the elevator and pushed the button of the 13th floor. He settled on one of the boxes and heard an annoying elevator song playing, probably trying to make him relax. His mind drifted off to the time when Sora made him watch My Little Pony together. He actually liked it and it had become his dirty little secret. As he finally reached the 13th floor, he began loading the boxes out and settled it against the cream coloured wall of the large lobby. It would be able to hold all the boxes for the room was the size of a medium apartment. A luxurious designer couch was situated against the wall opposite the elevator while the floor was covered with a plush, dark-red carpet and the ceiling was coated with a black paint.

Roxas went down to get the second batch, getting more exhausted as time went by. Pushing the elevator button for the second time he was getting irritated due to the song. After getting on the right floor he placed them next to the others. The blonde went down for the last time. A bead of sweat rolled down his forehead as he carried the last box inside.

As he settled against the mirrors that felt cold against his skin, he began thinking about the months to come. He had to settle quickly for the first courses would begin in a few days. The blonde was happy that he still was able to enrol into Post-Modern Music. He had always loved music, but he had no idea what to do with it until a month ago.

Roxas still hadn't told Sora that he was going to live in the big city. He chose not to tell him, because the brunette would only set him on edge. Cloud, on the other hand, already knew. For he had arranged the living for the younger blond in the big city. Roxas was unable to look for an apartment on such a short time notice, so the older blond took it upon himself to take care of his baby brother by looking for the best apartment that was available. Roxas still wanted to show how grateful he was and swing by his brothers place, but Cloud was currently out of town for business. That was one of the reasons Roxas didn't call the other for help and also because Cloud had done enough for him by getting this apartment.

And then he still had his other brother Ventus. He was two years older than Roxas, but they looked like two peas in a pod. Roxas thought about calling him, but he was probably sleeping god-knows-where with a huge hangover coming up. Ah how wonderful, the student life is.

The downside of not calling for any help, was the sweat and the heat. He suddenly sniffed the air and the smell led him to his armpit. 'Ugh, I definitely need a shower after this.'

Roxas thumped his head against the elevator wall and closed his eyes while listening to the god-awful music playing in this goddamn elevator... 'Fucking music, I've only been here for 2-something hours and I already want to blow up the elevator,' he irritatingly thought to himself.

The elevator slowed down and opened its doors. Roxas slowly began moving the boxes out of the elevator and placed them by the other boxes. He straightened his back that produced the cracking of his bones. The blonde took out his key and looked at the number that was engraved in the metal. 'So apartment number 13 huh? 13th apartment of the 13th floor, I hope I didn't get all the bad luck in the world.' Roxas glanced and saw that the hallway split up in 2 directions. One direction went from 1 till 13 and the other direction from 14 till 20.

He wiped his forehead with his sleeve and proceeded to pick up a box and went into the left corridor that quickly bended towards the right. Black doors decorated either side of the lobby that contained apartments from people the blonde would probably only exchange a few words with as a form of greeting that should pass for some kind of social interaction that humans need, or so they say. It would only be pure out of politeness for the blue eyed wouldn't make an effort to get to know these creatures he would be sharing air with. The left side of the hallway contained the apartments with the uneven number whereas the right side had the even numbers.

Roxas reached the end of hallway that contained his own sanctuary-to-be. He took out his key as he glanced up towards the golden numbers that were screwed on the big piece of wood. The blond inserted the key into the lock and turned it as a resounding click was heard. Pushing the door open, Roxas stepped into the apartment.

The first sight that greeted him was a spacious furnished room with big windows that showed the beautiful skyline of the city. 'Cloud got me a penthouse.. With furniture! Now I really owe him. This is just too much.' He wanted to take a better look at the view and thus settled the box in a corner and proceeded towards the windows. The glass almost covered the whole wall and even contained a balcony. As Roxas slid open the glass pane he took in a deep breath of the fresh air that entered his nose. He looked down at the miniature people that walked beneath him as he stood by the metal railing. The blond lifted his head and gazed towards the horizon that began to colour red and purple. He raised his hand into the tinted sky and grasped the invisible opportunities that were in store for him in this new place.

Roxas looked at the sky one last time before turning around and walked away from the breathtaking view, for he had to get the other shit boxes. He let the door ajar for some fresh air and walked towards the front door.

After 15-something minutes he was finally done with moving all of his boxes. Roxas straightened his back as it produced a cracked sound. He quickly walked towards the black leather L- shaped couch that stood at the right in room while kicking of his tattered black All Stars. The blond let his body fall upon the cool leather and turned his head towards the red sky. Against the white coloured wall, opposite the other arm of the couch, stood a big LED-TV. Roxas shifted on his back and let his left arm fall towards the matte-black tiles that covered the whole living room. His white shirt stuck as a second skin, while his face was covered in sweat. He took in deep breaths as he tried to steady his heartbeat by taking as much of fresh air as he could. His dark gray washed jeans he wore wear becoming more and more uncomfortable. A small bead of sweat upon his brows rolled down due to the gravity that existed, into his eyes. 'AH FUCK THAT BURNS! SHIT!,' the blond cursed. He grasped his eye while he sat upright. 'Might as well go shower.' He stood up and walked towards the boxes that stood in the corner in front of the white bookcases filled to the brim.

He searched the boxes till he found what he sought and walked towards the hallway that contained three doors. On either side a white door and at the end the last. Roxas opened the door on his right that showed a small guestroom. A simple twin bed was settled against the wall while a small closet stood next to it.

He closed the door and opened the piece of wood that was across from the guestroom. It revealed a spacious bathroom with light-grey tiles and black walls with white lines running horizontal over the surface. An expensive looking glass shower stood in the corner and next to it stood an equally expensive white bath. Roxas placed his toiletries onto the black coloured top of the counter and placed his towel onto a rack. He discarded his clothes onto the floor, took his shampoo and stepped into the revealing shower and turned on the faucet. As he stood under the stream he hid his blue eyes and let the warm water flow over his eyelids down his face. The warm water produced a mist that quickly enveloped the whole bathroom. The water assaulted and flattened his blonde spikes as he took the soap and cleansed his body of the sweat and stress of the move. He proceeded with shampooing his hair and when he considered it clean, he let the water rinse away all the dirt and turned off the water.

He stepped out of the shower and towelled his body dry. Afterwards he shuffled the cloth through his blonde locks as he looked at his reflection in the mirror. He didn't think he was ugly, but he wasn't anything special either.

Unlike his oldest brother, he only had a slight muscle definition due to the Struggle Tournaments he always did with Hayner, whereas Cloud looked as if he just walked straight out of a Calvin Klein photo shoot, with his carefully arranged spikes, trained body and long legs. Not to speak about his charisma that attracted women and men, even when some of them were 'happily' married.

Roxas touched a strand of his spiky hair that looked like spun gold. It had soaked up the rays of the sun when he was at the beach. This was one of the ways to separate Roxas from Ventus, for the latter's hair was slightly darker. Despite the fact they looked like twins, personality wise they weren't much alike. The younger one always had a small, tight-knit group of friends while Ventus was a social butterfly, going from party to party. Another feature that wasn't identical, were the eyes. Ventus' eyes were a pale blue that were a contrast to Roxas' sky blue colour, like Sora.

In spite of all the annoyance that the brunette brought, Roxas was the closest to him. That was probably due to the fact that there was only a year between the two, but Roxas considers him one of his best friends. Most of the times they are like day and night, but maybe that's what makes it work. They could tell each other anything without being criticized and crawl in each other's bed when they had a nightmare. The brunette was really depressed when he had to go to the city without him, but Roxas assured him they would see each other plenty. And well, now he was here.

Roxas walked out of the bathroom towards the living room where all those damn boxes stood with his stuff, still unpacked. He searched the boxes till he found some decent clothing, a white v-neck and a pair of dark blue skinny jeans that, according to Olette, made his butt look 'sexy-as-hell'.

The pattering of feet disturbed the silence that reigned in the apartment as Roxas made his way towards the door that was at the end of the hallway, that most likely contained his new bedroom. He swung the door open and gazed around. It had a modern and minimalistic design like the rest of the apartment. A wall of glass that was on the left side when you entered the room, was decorated with a sheer white curtain that was doubled with another set of black curtains that were sure to keep the light out; the other three walls were a simple white that made a contrast to the same black tiles that covered the floor, the same that were placed in the living room; a white king size bed with a contemporary platform design stood against the wall, opposite the door. A light-grey silk covered the duvet with two big fluffy pillows in the same colour, situated at the head; a big white closet with sliding panes that had a shiny surface, covered the right wall. As Roxas slid it open he saw that Cloud had even bought him a few new clothes. He touched the fabric of a new button-up shirt and felt that it even wasn't of cheap quality. The blonde turned around and saw a standing mirror that showed him top to bottom. Looking at his reflection he began to smile, he was happy he had a family like this and felt thankful towards Cloud. The eldest had always been a role-model to him, it was one of the reasons he tried to style his hair like him.

Done with observing his new chambers he began dressing as he looked at the scenery outside of his window. The sun had set and had laid a blanket of darkness over the city. At least, it had tried. For all the businesses that were open during the day had closed, but the nightlife was coming to life. The lights of the buildings sparkled like diamonds; cars speeding over the road gave an image of a river of light that streamed over the asphalt, this would probably last till the darkest of hours before it would die down. An hour later it would start again for the early risers already started their days and had to get to their jobs. The elderly went to sleep while the youngster got active and went out to enjoy their life. While Roxas peered outside, his stomach started to produce a grumbling sound. It was probably due to the fact that he hadn't eaten till this morning.

He pulled on his socks and walked out of his room towards the kitchen. It was a big kitchen with white cabinets and black surfaces that contained fancy appliances, a double-door silver refrigerator and a bar, that had four high bar stools, separated the kitchen from the living room. The black dinner table that held 6 chairs was situated at the window and a black and white picture a group of cherry blossoms trees, with only the pink petals coloured, was hung on the wall behind the three chair. Between the kitchen and dinner table was another hallway that had 2 doors. Roxas, being more curious than hungry, walked towards the small hallway and opened the door on the left. A small laundry room with a fancy washing machine and dryer. He then opened the other door and saw an average sized office. Placed upon the mahogany desk lay a couple of thick books. Roxas walked over to look what kind of information the pile held. When he picked up a book he uttered a cry of gratitude, his protective older brother had done another sweet deed. He had bought all the books that Roxas needed for his study.

He placed the book back onto the pile and took out his cell phone. As he dialled his brothers number, he walked towards the refrigerator and opened it up. Empty. But with everything Cloud had done, the younger certainly could handle a little shopping. And besides, he wasn't in the mood for cooking. So while he did his shopping he could take some take-out with him.

While the telephone rang for a couple of times, the lad walked towards the couch where he left his shoes and let his ass drop onto the soft surface. He tried to put on his shoe with one hand while the other held the phone to his ear when he heard a voice he hadn't heard in a few days.

'Well hello my little prince, I was wondering when you would call.'

'Cloud, no. Stop calling me that and I wanted to call you as soon as I arrived, but I didn't have the opportunity till now.'

'You should just give up on making me stop, I've called you that whole your life and I'll never stop, my sweet. So what happened?'

Roxas gave a sigh for, yeah, he knew Cloud would never stop, but secretly, Roxas loved him more for that. 'You know the mover I hired, right?'

'Yeah.'

'Well, he just dumped everything and then left.'

'Oh no!'

'Yeah, I know right! While it was in the agreement that we made! But besides that, the guy at the door wouldn't even do a small thing without being paid, so at the end I just did everything myself.'

'No, my poor baby! I'll call the boss of that mover guy and let him get it. On another note, I know Ventus is out of the question, but why didn't you just call Sora to help you?'

'..Are you serious about that?'

'Yeah, stupid question. But have you eaten yet? You know you should eat more and grow tall and big like me-.'

As Cloud went on with his rant, Roxas had successfully put on one shoe and proceeded with the other one as he responded to the ranting blond, 'No, I haven't yet. I was just about to anyways so you don't have to worry. By the way, how is your business trip going?'

'It's boring, but I'll be back tomorrow so we can eat something together, right?'

'Yeah, that sound awesome.'

As they continued to chat, Roxas put on his black jacket, picked up his keys and when to the front door.

As he let the door fall close behind him and locked it securely, he began thanking his big brother while walking into the direction of the elevator.

'Cloud, you don't know how thankful I am for everything you've done for me.'

'It's alright Roxas, I'm always to happy to help my little baby brother.'

'But I just don't know how to thank you. Let's also shop tomorrow, so I can buy something for you.'

'You know you don't have to do that Rox-baby, you know I love you and would do anything for you.'

'I know, I know. But I just want to show you my gratitude,' Roxas said as he stepped into the elevator and pushed the button for the ground floor.

'Fine, but it isn't necessary. I have to hang up now, we're going to continue the meeting. I'll call you tomorrow morning about our plans. I love you my honey!'

'Sure Cloud. And stop giving me those names!'

'I know you love me either way.'

'Yeah, I do.. Love you too Cloud, bye.'

'Bye!'

As the call ended, he let a smile slip onto his face. He still couldn't grasp how Cloud could be so stoic and serious around others, even with his close friends, but whenever the older talked to Roxas he became so caring and excited. People often thought that instead of being his younger brother, he was his boyfriend. Clouds' friends teased him relentlessly about his love for his baby brother.

Giggling in thought about his older brother, he had missed that the elevator had reached the ground floor. As the door slid open, a somewhat familiar voice came floating to his ears.

'Roxas? Is that you?'

Cliffhanger!

I hope you guys liked it. If you have any constructing criticizm, bring it on!